My wife and i have backpacked/camped out at least once a month since April through October, and in some months more than one trip. However, this Sunday November 20 I will spend the night hanging in my backyard for the first time.

I'm doing it for a couple of reasons- 1. I made it a personal goal to go 12 months in a row spending at least one night outdoors hanging. 2. I purchased a new 30* +2 TQ from MAMW and 20* UQ from UGQ, and so far I really haven't been able to put them to the test. Overnight Sunday it is supposed to go below freezing here for the first time this year, and i figure that will give me a good indication about whether my quilts will perform as advertised, and if for some reason I get too cold the house will make a convenient bail-out. I have promised myself that I will only bail if I start shivering!

My wife is fighting a cold and won't be able to join me (she's cold natured anyway, and probably wouldn't regardless).

I've done a lot of testing and adjusting in my back yard so hanging back there won't be anything unusual. My biggest concern is all the noise that comes along with suburbia... might not be a very restful night.

I have been camping and hanging all over the place but I have never done the back yard. I can imagine you are right about the sounds of suburbia. Thankfully I live out in the sticks so the only sounds I'm afraid of are the coyotes that come up in the back yard at night!

I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority. -E. B. White

hikehunter wrote:I like getting out in the back yard to hang, from time to time. The weather is cool and it is the best time right now. Hang Safe & Have Fun.

I will thanks. No great excitement but i am looking forward to seeing how my quilts perform.

ADVStrom14 wrote:I have been camping and hanging all over the place but I have never done the back yard. I can imagine you are right about the sounds of suburbia. Thankfully I live out in the sticks so the only sounds I'm afraid of are the coyotes that come up in the back yard at night!

Yeah I imagine there will be some traffic noise, dogs barking and etc. A mid-day nap may be in order for tomorrow! My goal is to stay warm through the night- sleep is bonus!

Update: Made it through the night. Got cold around 4am, reached under my hammock for my lightweight fleece jacket that I had stashed there and put it under my TQ covering my torso. That did the trick and I warmed back up nicely until I got up at 6.

It only got down to 34. I'm not sure how much colder I could have gone with my set. I was disappointed though, the forecast was for 30. I'll have to try again!

I have tested my setup in the backyard for over a year, first test in a overnight situation was at Fairfield this month and it was a success though my upper arms and side got cold, I stayed out all night and walked 14 miles the next day. Now can someone get me the proper boots I did not have either a pair of sneakers or hiking boots with me at camp.

At least now I'm confident I can get down to freezing with my setup. I'm looking forward to even colder temps. I want to add a PLUQ on bottom and use a 0* TQ I picked up from a member at the other forum, see if I can get through a low 20's night with that.

johnspenn wrote:At least now I'm confident I can get down to freezing with my setup. I'm looking forward to even colder temps. I want to add a PLUQ on bottom and use a 0* TQ I picked up from a member at the other forum, see if I can get through a low 20's night with that.

I really didn't think I'd enjoy the experience but I actually did.

Not to be a One Note Wonder, but a Costco quilt might be a better alternative to the PLUQ. Just make sure the down isn't compressed by the quilt below it.

You can resolve to live your life with integrity. Let your credo be this: Let the lie come into the world, let it even triumph. But not through me. ― Aleksandr SolzhenitsynMy You Tube Channel

johnspenn wrote:At least now I'm confident I can get down to freezing with my setup. I'm looking forward to even colder temps. I want to add a PLUQ on bottom and use a 0* TQ I picked up from a member at the other forum, see if I can get through a low 20's night with that.

I really didn't think I'd enjoy the experience but I actually did.

One night if you are feeling wild and crazy, you should try vapor barrier clothing. Or, if insulation on the bottom(and not the top) is an issue, just try a space blanket(which is a VB also) between your hammock and UQ. What the heck, if it stinks, you can always go in to bed and try again the next night without it. Or, you may end up amazed. Or not. (having made that recommendation, let me add: just make sure you understand VB theory and practice before hand, or you are almost guaranteed to not like the results)

Rom8:21the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption23..but..we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit.. groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body

BillyBob66 wrote:One night if you are feeling wild and crazy, you should try vapor barrier clothing. Or, if insulation on the bottom(and not the top) is an issue, just try a space blanket(which is a VB also) between your hammock and UQ. What the heck, if it stinks, you can always go in to bed and try again the next night without it. Or, you may end up amazed. Or not. (having made that recommendation, let me add: just make sure you understand VB theory and practice before hand, or you are almost guaranteed to not like the results)

I've read some about VBLs but I'm not sure I'm prepared to try staying outside in that kind of cold (single digits/sub-zero from what I've read). Time will tell, but for now this Jawja boy just wants to be able to stay out for most of the year and take it easy during the extreme times.